From the New York Times: "With 28,000 acres of tropical forest to explore, the Caribbean National Forest, 24 miles southeast of San Juan, is a hiker's paradise. Known locally as El Yunque ‚ÄĒ named for an Indian spirit, Yuquiye, meaning Forest of Clouds ‚ÄĒ it is one of the oldest forest reserves in the Western Hemisphere. Also, one of the wettest, so bring rain gear.

There are more than 24 miles of recreational trails, from one-mile walking paths to slick rocky trails within a rain forest that echoes with the calls of tree frogs and exotic birds, including the endangered Puerto Rican parrot. Misty waterfalls are surrounded by tropical flowers and giant bright-green ferns and trees.

Specializing in bird-watching hikes, AdvenTours, 787-889-0251 or 787-530-8311 (cellphone), www.adventourspr.com, has multilingual guides fluent in English and Spanish, who can identify dozens of species of exotic birds. The two-hour hike (round trip) to La Mina Falls for a refreshing splash in the pool is a popular moderate option, while the four-to-five-hour (round trip) trek to Mount Britton promises a more challenging day. There are also a variety of night hikes in El Yunque that combine strolls on easy trails with living-history tours of Ta√≠no Indians and ritual re-enactments, bird watching and identifying wildlife under the star-lit sky."